News
Three post-doctoral vacancies are available in the Marine Laboratory, Portaferry: tidal energy (engineering), macroalgal genetics (biology) and bivalve fisheries (biology).
1. Post-doctoral Research Fellow (sustainable shellfisheries), Ref: 12/101963. Salary £30,122 per annum
Closing date: 26/03/2012
Fixed-term contract, two years
See more details and apply online
2. Post-doctoral Research Fellow (macroalgal genetics), Ref: 12/101970. Salary £30,122 per annum
Closing date: 02/04/2012
Fixed-term contract, one year (potentially extendable)
See more details and apply online
4. Post-doctoral Research Fellow (tidal turbines), Ref. 12/101975. Salary £30,122 per annum
Closing date: 16/04/2012
Fixed-term contract, one year
See more details and apply online
We are recruiting four new positions to work at Queen's University Marine Laboratory starting in early 2012.
1. Technician (general duties). Salary £18,868 per annum
Closing date: 10/02/2012
Permanent (subject to probation)
See more details and apply online
2. Technician (microalgae cultivation). Salary £18,868 per annum
Closing date: 13/02/2012
Fixed-term contract, three years
See more details and apply online
3. Project Manager (post-doctoral researcher), algal biology. Salary £30,122 per annum
Closing date: 13/02/2012
Fixed-term contract, three years
See more details and apply online
4. Post-doctoral Research Fellow, tidal turbines. Salary £30,122 per annum
Closing date: 27/02/2012
Fixed-term contract, one year
See more details and apply online
European EnAlgae partnership will unlock the potential of algal bioenergy.
A major new £12.3 million initiative - bringing together experts from across North West Europe to develop the potential of algae as a source of sustainable energy - is partly based in QML.
This four and a half year project called Energetic Algae (EnAlgae) will address the current lack of information on macro- and microalgal productivity in North West Europe. EnAlgae will establish a series of pilot scale seaweed farms and microalgae growth facilities in the region to provide the crucial information needed to assess the productivity of algae production.
This information will be used to better understand the economics and greenhouse gas balances of making fuel, energy and other products from algae in North West Europe. Another output will a computer-based tool to inform decision makers about how and where algae could be grown in the region.
EnAlgae is co-funded under the European Regional Development Fund by the North West Europe INTERREG IVB North West Europe programme and the Welsh Government's Targeted Match Fund, together with a range of co-sponsors.
For more information please contact:
Dr John Bothwell (j.bothwell@qub.ac.uk)
The University of Edinburgh in association with The Queen’s University Marine Laboratory, Portaferry is testing tidal turbines in Strangford Lough, near to the shore of Portaferry. This is in order to support the verification of numerical models and to provide experimental support for the planning of tidal current arrays for the PerAWaT project (Performance Assessment of Wave and Tidal Array Systems) commissioned by the Energy Technologies Institute.
The cost effective deployment of marine energy converters when located within a large scale array is dictated by the understanding of the behaviour of these devices. A thorough understanding of the mechanisms involved within and throughout an array system is imperative in order to ensure that energy extraction at the site is maximised with an optimum positioning of and within an array system.
Therefore, a series of tests with two 1:10th scale horizontal axis tidal turbines is being conducted close to the shore of Portaferry, near to the Queen’s University Marine Laboratory in order to ascertain the effects of thrust and torque on tidal turbines within a simulated array formation. In order to provide the input for array design protocols and the development of numerical design software, results intend to show the nature of interactions between neighbouring tidal turbine devices over a range of configurations appropriate for device separations within an array scenario.
The test platform was temporarily moored in Strangford Lough for the duration of the test between August and October 2011 and all testing will take place on the flood tide with turbines in altered positions over the full neap – spring tidal cycle.
QML research student, Nick Carey, has spent two months working in British Columbia, Canada. His work on the physiology of marine invertebrates is comparing the biology of animals that live in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and how climate change could have different impacts on animals in the two oceans.
Chitons, in particular, are small and obscure members of the Northern Ireland seashore fauna. In the North Pacific they grow much larger and there are a wider variety of species on the shore. But all chitons start from eggs and larvae that are similar in size. This size difference, within and between species, is the subject of new experiments on how metabolism scales with body size.
This research trip is generously supported by a grant from the QUB William & Betty MacQuitty Travel Scholarships.
New adult education weekends - A free introduction to the delights of Marine Life between the tide marks.
The course will occupy two days of indoor and outdoor activities, with sessions available on 9/10 July or 6/7 August. It will include short talks, practical experience on the shore, learning how to identify some marine species and a team science project. The magical area that is the sea-shore – disappearing beneath the sea half the time – is a patchwork of hidden splendours. Tiny, bright-coloured creatures struggle for survival in this strange world of half wet and half dry. Seaweeds coloured like jewels decorate the rocks and pools while fierce predators lurk in the shadows, disguised from view. This course will introduce our spectacular sea-shores to you as an exciting but largely unknown part of our natural world.
For more information or to register, please contact Dr Daryl Birkett by email (d.birkett@qub.ac.uk) or by phone +44 (0)28 4272 7806 (please leave a message).
More information is available on our website, under "Education".
The weekend of 20-22 May is the "Celebrate Strangford Lough!" Festival in Portaferry. The tall ship Antigua will be moored in Portaferry from Friday to Wednesday 20-25 May; tickets for public sailings are available all weekend.
Public events hosted in the Queen's Marine Lab will take place on both Saturday and Sunday:
Saturday - 8.00 - 10.00 am - Flyaway moth! Learn about our local moths, beautiful but hidden insect gems.
Saturday - 11.00 am - 3.00 pm - Seaweed squelch! Walk on the shore with QML biologists, and then come back to our teaching lab to learn more about seaweed, and the creatures that live in it. Activities include seaweed art, seaweed cooking, and exploring with microscopes in the lab.
Sunday - 3.00 pm - Public lecture "Rock and Roll", a fascinating introduction to how geology shapes the landscape and culture in the Strangford Lough region.
Post-graduate students studying marine biology topics in Queen's have organised the 8th annual Marine Biology Association post-graduate conference.
The meeting, organised by students, for students, is a forum for presentations and networking with peer early-stage researchers from around the UK and Ireland and beyond. The meeting will take place on the main campus of Queen's University Belfast with three days of oral presentations in addition to poster sessions, social events, and keynote talks presented by academic members of staff from Queen's.
http://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/8thAnnualMBAPostgraduateConference/?
A new procedure applies, from 1st September 2010, for all A-level students who wish to apply for work experience or work placements in Biology though Queen's University.
Work placements of 1-5 days' duration are available both on the main campus (Medical Biology site) and in the Queen's Marine Laboratory (QML) in Portaferry.
The application deadline for October placements is 10 September 2010.
As places are limited and there is a high demand, applicants will be selected on a merit basis based on their achievements attained at GCSE/AS level and those who can show a particular interest in the subject of biological science in general or a specific aspect of it.Please apply by sending a letter of application and relevant school results, and specify whether you are applying for the Medical Biology Site (Belfast) or the Marine Laboratory (Portaferry). Letter should be addressed to the Head of School, by email at hos.biolsci@qub.ac.uk
or by letter to:-
Professor C. Maggs
Head of School
School of Biological Sciences
Queen's University Belfast
Medical Biology Centre
97 Lisburn Road
Belfast BT9 7BL
The deadline for the autumn session is Friday 10th September; people wishing to be considered for the second session should apply on or before Friday 10th December, stating whether they are applying for the Medical Biology Site (Belfast) or the Marine Laboratory (Portaferry).
The outcome of the application will be made known to the applicants by email / letter within 10 days of the relevant closing date.
Divers from the MRRG based at the Marine Laboratory Portaferry have accumulated more than 700 dives between them since the beginning of their M.modiolus reef research and restoration work in 2008.
The experimental reef constructed by MRRG divers in January 2010 has been monitored 4 months later. The translocated mussels successfully attached themselves through their byssal threads to the scallop cultch, creating a healthy reef where epifauna including asicidians and hydroids are thriving. An increase in mobile epifauna has also been noticed by the scientific divers.
All this information including the new section describing the work carried out by QUB to construct the first experimental M.modiolus reefs in Europe is available on the MRRG website.
Photo by Akira Peters at Bezhin Rosko (http://www.bezhinrosko.com/)
The first genome of a brown seaweed, Ectocarpus, has been published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature this month, and QML staff member Dr John Bothwell is one of its authors. The brown seaweeds lay the foundations for life in the intertidal zone and this paper builds on QML's long history of phycological (algal) research.
Ectocarpus is a brown filamentous seaweed and is often found growing as an epiphyte on larger marine organisms, in this photo, Seagrass (the green straplike leaves).
Dr. Bothwell's contribution to this study suggests that one family of proteins, called receptor kinases, were involved in the evolution of multicellularity in plants, animals and brown algae, and sheds light on the deepest mechanisms of development and evolution in life on Earth.
The full paper is available for free (open access) at the Nature journal website.
QUB internal magazine Queen's Now, cover photo from the May issue, showing HRH The Prince of Wales, Prof Trevor Whittaker, and Vice Chancellor Prof Peter Gregson
His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, visited Queen’s Marine Laboratory (QML) in Portaferry on 13 May as part of a visit to the tidal energy turbine SeaGen operarted by Marine Current Turbines.
The visit is also highlighted on QTV, the Queen's University TV channel with videos from the university: [link to video]
The Prince of Wales met staff from the School of Biological Sciences who are based at the Laboratory and are currently involved in researching the use of algae as a viable source of bio-fuel. Research at the Laboratory also covers the areas of sustainable fisheries, evolutionary ecology and biodiversity.
During a tour of the Laboratory and the University’s large scale wave basin, His Royal Highness met members of Queen’s staff, including Professor Trevor Whittaker who was instrumental in the creation of the world’s largest working hydro-electric wave energy device known as Oyster, which is currently installed at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.
Queen’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Gregson said: “We welcome His Royal Highness today, not just as an honoured guest, but as a global ambassador for the importance of sustainability. Queen’s is committed to sustainable development – in its campus, through its research and in educating future generations of leaders.
“I am proud to say that our marine biologists are globally recognised and our engineers have a well deserved reputation as a world-leader in the field of Marine Energy Renewables.”
We welcome Dr Sridharan Govindachary, who is a post-doctoral researcher working on the Euroean-funded project, Marine algae as biomass for biofuels (Mabfuel).
For more information, see the Mabfuel project description.
We welcome Beth Strain, who has joined the QML staff as a post-doctoral researcher and member of the dive team in the Modiolus Restoration Research Group.
For more information, see the MMRG project website.
The first Modiolus modiolus researchers' meeting took place in Exploris Aquarium last January 19th. Organized by the QML Modiolus Restoration Research Group the meeting provided an opportunity for researchers to discuss the past, present and future of the horse mussel reefs in British and Irish waters. The meeting consisted of one day presentations followed by a day of SCUBA diving or ROV work on the M. modiolus beds of Strangford Lough. A wide variety of topics were covered during the presentations, from the current efforts carried out by the Northern Irish Government (DARD and DOE) and Queen's University Belfast to restore the M. modiolus reefs of Strangford Lough to the use of remote sensing techniques to locate and map M. modiolus reefs off the Welsh coast, the exciting discovery of new and extremely rich M. modiolus beds near the Manx coast, the striking reproductive differences between Irish and Scandinavian Modiolus populations or the current status of the horse mussel communities in Scottish sea Loughs among others. Following the presentations audience and guest speakers agreed knowledge sharing and collaboration between the different conservation agencies, researchers and universities currently involved in M. modiolus research are essential to guarantee the future of the horse mussel reefs, one of the richest marine habitats in Europe. The conference schedule is accessible in the MMRG project website.
The MRRG is extremely thankful to all the guest speakers, chairmen and attendees that travelled to Portaferry for sharing their knowledge, ideas, opinions and experiences, making this I Modiolus Researchers Meeting a reality.
For more: MMRG Project website
Application Deadline: 11 January 2010
We are looking for candidates for a PhD position based in Portaferry to start in autumn 2010, on the project ‘Physiology of living fossils: does oxygen metabolism reflect inherited adaptations to ancient atmospheres?’
This project will assess how different marine invertebrates respond to conditions of low oxygen (hypoxia). Tolerance for a broad range of oxygen availability may be related to animals’ evolutionary lineage, as their direct ancestors survived different levels of past atmospheric oxygen. The subject organisms may be polychaetes, molluscs, and echinoderms, particularly ‘living fossils’ or the earliest-derived lineages in these clades. Work will include taxonomic selection of evolutionarily relevant study organisms; animal culture to rear experimental subjects in the laboratory; laboratory experiments to measure standard physiology metrics; and designing experiments to compare these responses in various ocean chemistry regimes. All laboratory and field work will be based in the Queen’s University Marine Laboratory in Portaferry. The student should have a strong enthusiasm and background in: invertebrate zoology, physiology, and/or evolutionary biology. The experimental work in this project will involve practical hands-on work designing and building experimental apparatus, but also numerical analysis to test the results in the context of evolution. Testing whether there is a relationship between phylogenetic lineage and physiological performance in a range of ocean chemistry conditions will have important implications for understanding and predicting the impacts of future ocean acidification on marine invertebrate communities.
Primary supervisor: Julia Sigwart
Funding: Department for Employment and Learning NI – full funding (tuition and stipend) for UK students only (partial funding is available for EU students)
Apply online:
https://pg.apply.qub.ac.uk/home/
Deadline: 11 January 2010
Experimental biogenic reef substrate,
composed of large scallop shells, were planted in Strangford Lough by the Modiolus Restoration Research Group dive
team. These bags of 'cultch' will provide the starting point for new restored reefs of the Horse Mussel, Modiolus modiolus. The mussels are not able to get a grip on the muddy seafloor, and larval mussels prefer to settle on shell material of other bivalves. Further work to introduce new mussel reefs on the cultch substrate will be conducted in January 2010.
Portaferry-based PhD students present seminars to the School of Biological Sciences in QUB.
- 24 November 2009 – Damien Scullion - The relationship between water movement and the morphological and biomechanical properties of the kelp, Laminaria digitata.
- 17 November 2009 - Mhairi Alexander - Multiple predator effects on the rocky shore
- 17 November 2009 - Claire McCambridge - The Northern Ireland edible crab (Cancer pagurus) fishery: implications of declawing on animal welfare and fishery sustainability
Julia Sigwart travelled to the Zoologial
Station in Naples to attend the annual meeting of the European network of
marine stations and laboratories, MARS
www.marsnetwork.org
